AI experts warn against ‘apocalyptic’ rhetoric on risks
Experts on a UN artificial intelligence committee are cautioning against the use of apocalyptic rhetoric when discussing AI risks. They argue that fear-mongering is counterproductive and that scientists should focus on evidence-based understanding of the technology's actual capabilities and dangers.
Why it matters
This highlights a growing divide in the AI community between those concerned with existential threats and those advocating for a more pragmatic, scientific approach to regulation and development.
Several experts on a United Nations artificial intelligence committee have warned against the apocalyptic rhetoric used by some professionals in the sector regarding AI risks.
“As scientists, it’s very important to invest in the science, to really understand what we know (from) what we don’t know, and investing in fear is not that helpful,” said Joelle Barral, an executive at Google DeepMind and a member of the International Scientific Panel on AI, an independent body.
Former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon, who previously worked at OpenAI, said in early September that AI developers believed the technology “could kill us all by the end of the decade”. A research engineer who left Google DeepMind in July made similar comments, saying it might already be “too late to avoid” humanity’s eradication by AI.
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